The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-05-21
rHE RACKET.

dS utisichtAiuS uS uIcy uIc luChiuS Ia
true artistic merit. - Chicago Times.
--N -
rHE "cADoiNo" RACKET.
How Recently. Bersaved widows Arc
"Worked" for Old Clothes.
~ have heard with deep regrets Of
your bereavement. madame, and,
knowing that you are c~haritably in
clincd, l have called to see if you would
aid me in procuring employment. l
have a wife and three children depend
ent upon me for II living. l am prom
ised work in ten different stores if l can
make myself presentable. You have
no further use for them-thcy will only
tend to call up painful recollections. l
mean the clothes of Mr.. -" The
lady, in deep mourning and eyes be.
dimmed with tears, readily assented,
and in a few moments a servant ap-
peared with a good-sized bundle Of
clothes, the door closed, the petitioner
left a house on Washington boulevard.
where death had visited the night be.
fore, turned the next corner, met a
confederate, delivered the bundle to
him, and the latest Eastern racket had
worked to a nicely.
Curious to get a more thorough in.
sight into the business, a reporter visit.
ed a well-known resort of the apostles
Of ''cadging' on Was hington street,
near Franklin. The place is a low,
dingy and filthy groggery, dominated
by the genus tramp, whose head
quarters it has been for years. A
dozen or more of the fraternity were
collected about the stove, smoking,
chewing. expectorating and narratins
fables. Presently a lull to the proceed.
ings was occasioned by the appearance
of a comparatively w~ell-dressed man..
''Poys." quoth he, handing three Of
them a slip each, ''de gots are goot to.
day. All big fellers up In der avenues.
Come round to der sthore und wash
yer mugs und fms"
The reporter recognized the speaker
as a well-known Madison street pawn.
broker. The trio accompanied him to
the sign of the three golden spheres,
and a moment later emerged with
clean faces and somber looks. Each
was accompanied by a confederate.
They were armed with the residences
and names Of men who had died the
previous night, copied from the death
notices contained in the morning pa.
pers. The reporter singled out a pair
and followed them down to Clark
street. Here the two boarded a north.
bound street car. riding as far as lin
coin Park. Following them, the re-
porter was carried down Garfield
avenue. The pair were in advance Of
the scribe about one hundred yards.
Suddenly the 'unwashed" party turned
a corner. The other kept on until a
house was reached, in front of which
he halted. There had been q death in
the house, as was evidenced by a long
piece Of Grape pendant from the door
knob.
The man timidly rang the bell. and q
domestic answered tho summons. The
caller desired to see the lady of the
house. The lady could not be seen. A
great bereavcment-the loss of her
husband-had so worked upon her
that she was confined to her room. The
caller was not to be put of in this way.
He insisted mildly, yet emphatically,
and the lady Of whom he was in quest
Don came to the door. Tho same
story as was poured into the sympa-
thetic a Of the Washington boule-
ward widow was given here, and was
equally successful, for, as be.
fore, a bundle was the out
come of the conversation. As
before, too, the clothes were handed to
the man around the corner. Three
other houses were visited, only n Of
which, however, any clothes were got.
ten from. And so. with the bundles,
the pair returned the way they had
come, obtained the ready cash for the
fruits Of their labors, and returned to
the groggery, where they spent the
money obtained in this manner.
'Cadging" is a comparatively new
institution in Chicago. A good strike
is very often productive Of an entire
outfit Of suits, including broadclotha
and fine linen underwear. johnny"
Dugan. "smooth-tongued Johnny"
brought the practice West some months
ago, and 1t will soon assume the pro-
portions It holds In New York and
Philadelphia. -Chtcsgo Inter- Ocean.
Al the Back Door.